AGRA: A pinnacle of one of the four minarets of the Taj Mahal fell off on Monday afternoon during repair work, witnesses said. But officials said it was taken out because of its weak condition.

Superintending archaeologist Bhuvan Vikram of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) told news agency IANS that the pinnacle did not fall but was taken out because of its weak condition.

The white marble Taj Mahal was being chemically cleaned for the past few months.

The covers and scaffoldings around the minarets have marred the beautiful view of the 17th century monument, visited by thousands each day.

"Beautification work was on for Taj Mahal minar. All of a sudden its pinnacle broke into two pieces. This never happened before, this happened due to ASI's neglect," a member of the advocacy group Smarak Suraksha Samiti told news agency ANI.